If you want the fastest possible turnaround time on your structural engineering quote, providing the right information is critical.
At our structural engineering firm, we turn quotes (which come at no cost to you) around the same day or next day for 95% of the projects that come in.
However, this is completely contingent on the quality of information you provide upfront.
In past projects that experienced lengthy delays with quoting, the reasoning almost always tied back to missing details.
The more details you provide upfront, the faster you’ll be able to get a reliable number to properly set your budget and get your project moving.
Here’s what information you should provide to get the best structural engineering quote possible, and why each piece matters.
11 Things You Need to Provide to Get an Accurate Structural Engineering Quote
To get a genuine estimate for your project, these are the 11 pieces of information you need to provide:
1. The Build Site Address
*This is the single most important piece of information you can provide us with to get your structural engineering quote.
Every structural engineering package is specific to a single location. The snow, wind, and seismic loads we apply to your structure are determined by your exact address.
Even two houses on the exact same street can technically have different load requirements depending on the topography.
We can’t begin modeling a structure accurately without knowing exactly where it’s going to be built.
2. Intended Use of the Structure
Is this a residential project or commercial? A home, a shop, an office, something else?
The intended use of the structure affects more than just the engineering scope.
This is because residential and commercial structures are engineered to different building codes, and some services that might be required for commercial buildings (like Fire, Life and Safety review) are not required for homes.
Telling us the purpose behind the building’s structure beforehand ensures that the quote reflects what your project actually requires.
3. Square Footage and Stories
The total square footage of your project (or the overall footprint) is another critical tidbit for us to know before providing a quote. In addition, we also need to know the heated square footage. These are separate numbers.
Along with that, you should note how many stories the structure will have. A single-story home and a two-story home of the same square footage are different engineering jobs.
Adding a second floor can significantly affect things like load paths, framing plans and calculations depending on the design of your project.
4. Construction Material
What materials is the structure going to be built from? Wood frame, steel, concrete, ICF, ICCF?
An example of a structure constructed with ICCF material.
The material affects everything from how we model the loads to how long the engineering takes.
If you’re using non-standard materials, like earthbag or rammed earth, tell us in your submission. It doesn’t disqualify the project, but it factors into the quote.
5. Foundation Type
What kind of foundation are you planning?
Examples of foundation types include slab on grade, stem wall, piers and basement, and as you can probably guess, each has a different engineering scope.
More intricate foundation types, like basements and elevated foundations, add cost and complexity.
If you haven’t decided on a foundation yet, that’s okay; just let us know if you have a preference in your submission so we can take it into account.
6. Roof Type and Trusses
The roof type, such as standard gable, mono slope, or something else, is also worth noting.
More importantly, we want to know whether you plan to use pre-engineered manufactured roof trusses or site-built trusses.
If you’re using manufactured trusses, the truss manufacturer will provide their own stamped plans, and we’ll need those once they’re available to incorporate into the structural package and make the proper roof connections.
If you’re building trusses on site, that work falls within our scope, which affects the quote.
7. Architectural Plans and AutoCAD
Do you already have architectural plans for the project? If so, do you have them in AutoCAD?
Here’s an example of architectural plans, courtesy of The House Designers:
The architectural plans matter because we extract the AutoCAD file from the architectural drawings to use as the wireframe model that starts the engineering process.
If you have a PDF of your plans but no AutoCAD, we’ll need to account for that. If you don’t have architectural plans at all and the structure has interior walls, home design needs to happen before engineering can start. We provide custom home design services, if needed.
If you have plans from another designer or architect, send them along. We’ll review what you have and let you know what we’re working with.
8. A Rough Sketch of the Floor Plan
Even if you don’t have formal architectural plans yet, a rough sketch goes a long way.
If you do a rough sketch, make sure to:
- Show us the basic layout, such as where the rooms are, what goes where and the approximate dimensions.
- Note if there are doors and windows, and list their sizes and locations as best you can.
Don’t worry, the sketch doesn’t need to be a work of art for it to be useful.
A hand-drawn sketch scanned or photographed and sent over is enough to help us understand the scope of what you’re building and quote it more accurately.
9. Additional Structures on the Property
Do you plan to add any additional structures, such as a detached garage, an ADU (accessory dwelling unit), or a pool, to this project?
A picture of an ADU, which are growing in popularity.
Additional structures are typically worthwhile additions for many property owners, but each structure is considered a separate scope of work from an engineering perspective.
If you want all of them engineered, tell us upfront so the quote covers everything, and there are no surprises later.
10. Site Conditions
Here are a couple of site-specific questions that can affect the scope:
- Is the build site near water? If so, we’ll need a GeoTech report, which analyzes the soil composition and load-bearing capacity at the site. Without it, we can’t properly design the foundation.
- Is the site flat and level, or does it have grade changes? If the site isn’t level, we’ll need a topography report. If you’re not sure, ask us. We can tell you whether it’s likely to be an issue based on what you describe.
11. Photos, Links, or References to Similar Projects
If you have photos, links, or any information about a project similar to yours, include them.
It can be a house you found online, a floor plan from another source, or photos of an existing structure you want to replicate; anything that helps us understand what you’re going for is useful.
When it comes to providing you with a realistic quote, we can never have too much information.
What Happens After You Request a Structural Engineering Quote
Once you provide all the information you can, we’ll prepare your quote. For most projects, that comes back within 24 hours.
If you want to move forward, here is the process you will follow after getting the quote:
- We’ll send a formal proposal for signature through AdobeSign.
- Once the agreement is signed, we invoice for a retainer. Lead time begins once the signed agreement, retainer payment, and all required materials (including AutoCAD files) are received.
- From there, your project gets assigned to an engineer, who will pick it up as soon as they have availability and reach out to you directly.
Note: We always try to give you the most accurate quote possible. However, if your project includes details we didn’t account for in the original quote (which often only becomes clear once engineering is underway), there may be an additional service fee to cover the additional scope. The best way to avoid extraneous costs is to be as thorough as possible in the beginning. If you’re not sure whether something is relevant, include it anyway.
Ready to Get Your Quote?
If you have the information you learned about in this post ready to go, submit it here for your no-obligation quote.
If you’re still early in the process and just want a ballpark estimate, reach out and tell us what you know. We’ll ask the right questions from there.